Method and apparatus for analyzing and designing various network configuration scenarios

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus are disclosed for analyzing and designing various network configuration scenarios. A modular design allows market assessment and network planning functions to be performed more efficiently and accurately using a single integrated design tool. Wired and wireless access technologies can be modeled and evaluated. In an exemplary implementation for modeling and evaluating fixed wireless access networks, the network planning tool comprises a market scenario planner, a cluster analysis tool, a hub sector planner and a network architecture planner. Generally, the market scenario planner analyzes a listing of potential customers to generate a list of target customers. The cluster analysis tool allows the network planner to identify “clusters” of demand for potential hub placement. The hub sector planner analyzes the hub assignments generated by the cluster analysis tool and allocates each building in a given hub to a particular sector. The network architecture planner processes the output of the hub sector planning tool to (i) generate a complete configuration of the network in terms of equipment requirements at each node (each building, hub and service node); and (ii) compare a set of scenarios using several financial measures.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to network planning tools, andmore particularly, to an improved network planning tool that allowsvarious network configuration scenarios to be engineered and compared.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the United States, telephone service was historically provided almostexclusively by American Telephone and Telegraph, Inc. (now AT&T).Following the deregulation of the telephone industry in 1984, AT&T waslimited to providing long distance telephone service, and localtelephone service was thereafter provided by the Regional Bell OperatingCompanies (RBOCs), such as Bell Atlantic and Southern New EnglandTelephone (now SNET). Thus, following deregulation, the Regional BellOperating Companies (RBOCs) initially served as the exclusive localexchange carriers (LECs), and maintained the subscriber loop between thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and each individual telephonesubscriber. As competition in all segments of the telephone industryincreases, however, other companies are poised to provide telephoneservice.

The increasing demand for high-speed data transmission has furtherincreased the demand for access in the local loop. Thus, there is acorresponding increase in the number of service providers attempting toprovide direct service to customers. In order to permit competition inthe local telephone market, the Regional Bell Operating Companies(RBOCs) were required to unbundle their subscriber loop, such that theCompeting Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) and other service providerscan access the subscriber. Typically, the unbundling occurs along thesubscriber loop, between the LEC's Central Office and the subscriber'sequipment, with a costly hard-wired connection. With the increasingpopularity of wireless networks, however, there are new opportunitiesfor a service provider to access a customer without requiring a wiredconnection to the local loop of each subscriber.

Thus, service providers are aggressively pursuing several differentwired and wireless access technologies that allow them to provideservice to customers in a cost effective and efficient manner, includingenhanced copper (xDSL), cable networks (HFC), 3G mobile wirelessplatforms, fiber optics, satellite broadband networks and fixed wirelessbroadband (FWB) systems. Fixed wireless broadband systems have beenfound to be particularly beneficial for new market entrants who do nothave an existing local loop infrastructure. Among other benefits, fixedwireless broadband access networks can be deployed quickly andrelatively inexpensively, offering new service providers a viable meansof accessing the local subscribers.

While these emerging access technologies possess many advantages forbuilding local access networks, they pose unique challenges for marketand network planners. For example, the service provider is faced withuncertainty in the types of services required, their bandwidth overtime, and the specific locations of customers that may require suchservices. Before the first customer can even be signed up, the serviceprovider must typically prioritize the areas to proceed in and obtainsufficient real estate and spectrum assets for the required networkelements.

Thus, before proceeding in a given new market, the service provider mustperform a detailed analysis of the market to evaluate the costs andbenefits of proceeding in the market. For a service provider that isinterested in serving only commercial customers, the service providertypically identifies existing commercial buildings, and obtainsinformation about the tenants and their telecommunication needs. Aforecast can be generated based on existing models that correlate, forexample, between industry codes, number of employees and annual revenuesto predict the telecommunication needs of each potential customer.

In addition, the network infrastructure required to support theforecasted customer base must also be engineered, so that an estimate ofthe corresponding costs for the network infrastructure can be generated.Generally, the network planner must determine the appropriate size,location, and timing of required network components that minimizes thebusiness risk and satisfies the bandwidth requirements. The number andlocation of nodes in a broadband network typically have a cascadingimpact on equipment costs within the nodes and on transmission costsfrom the individual nodes to a centralized node that connects to othernetworks, such as the PSTN. Therefore, the network planner must quantifythe overall cost for each network configuration option that is examined.In this manner, the service provider can make an informed decision aboutwhether to proceed in a given market and can prioritize markets, marketstrategies and customer segments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional fixed wirelessbroadband network 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixed wireless broadbandnetwork 100 generally consist of one or more service nodes (SN), such asthe service node 110, and hubs nodes, such as the hub nodes 120-1through 120-3 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as hub nodes 120).The centrally located service node 110 serves as a gateway to othernetworks, such as the Internet 140, the PSTN 150, or other service nodes160. A service node 110 contains the centralized switching and routingequipment, as well as service-specific servers, in a known manner.Traffic flows from the service node 110 to the intermediate hub nodes120 located near end-user buildings, such as end-user buildings 125-1through 125-N (hereinafter, collectively referred to as end-userbuildings 125). Hub nodes 120 contain point-to-point orpoint-to-multipoint wireless base stations that communicate with themultiple end-user buildings 125. Multiplexing and transmission equipmentin the hub nodes 120 concentrates traffic to provide more economicaltransmission to the service node 110. A wireless connection 122 istypically used to connect the end-user building 125 to the correspondinghub node 120. The hub-to-service node connection typically utilizes awireline link 115, such as a fiber connection. For a more detaileddiscussion of the elements in a fixed wireless broadband network, see,for example, Martin P. Clarke, “Wireless Access Networks,” John Wiley &Sons, 2000, incorporated by reference herein.

A need therefore exists for an improved method and apparatus foranalyzing and designing various network configuration scenarios. Afurther need exists for a network planning tool that analyzes theeffects of variations in service demand on equipment configurations andnetwork topology; analyzes the costs and benefits of a givenconfiguration; and provides necessary information for implementing adesired configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally, a method and apparatus are disclosed for analyzing anddesigning various configuration scenarios for a communication network.The disclosed network planning tool employs a modular design that allowsmarket assessment and network planning functions to be performed moreefficiently and accurately using a single integrated design tool. Thepresent invention can model and evaluate network scenarios for bothwired and wireless access technologies.

In an exemplary implementation for modeling and evaluating fixedwireless access networks, the network planning tool comprises four mainmodules, namely, a market scenario planner, a cluster analysis tool, ahub sector planner and a network architecture planner. Generally, themarket scenario planner analyzes market-specific data for potentialcustomers to generate a list of target customers. A given serviceprovider can create the market-specific data by gathering marketinformation and applying well-known models to predict thetelecommunications needs of target customers. The original potentialcustomer list may be filtered, for example, based on certain parameters,such as building type, number of tenants or employees, minimum demandlevels, or minimum projected revenues. In addition, the market scenarioplanner can estimate how the initial demand for the various serviceswill grow over time. By varying the filtering and/or demand parametersusing the market scenario planner, a number of scenarios can be createdthat can then be processed by the other modules.

The cluster analysis tool allows the network planner to identify“clusters” of demand for potential hub placement. More specifically, thecluster analysis tool processes the target customers identified by themarket scenario planner and determines an optimal location for the hubsites, their associated customer buildings and the detailed accessmethod per building, based on the distance of the buildings to eachpossible hub and the total bandwidth served from the hub. Generally, theserving radius of the selected radio technology and vendor provide acollection of hub sites that cover the maximum amount of demand subjectto user-configurable upper and lower bandwidth thresholds.

The hub sector planner analyzes the hub assignments generated by thecluster analysis tool (i.e., the hub locations, covered buildings andtheir access type) and allocates each building in a given hub to aparticular sector. The hub sector planner takes into account theselected radio technology, its frequency bandwidth requirements for thegiven configuration, and the number of FCC channels that are held by theservice provider (or are planned to be obtained). The hub sector plannerindicates which and how many buildings can be served by the selectedconfiguration for the assumed number of available FCC channels. Theoutput of the exemplary hub sector planner also identifies hublocations, their associated buildings that can be served and thebuilding and hub radio equipment requirements.

The network architecture planner processes the output of the hub sectorplanning tool to generate a complete configuration of the network interms of equipment requirements at each building, hub and service nodeof the overall access network. The network architecture planner providesa year-by-year equipment bill of materials for each network element ornode, as well as the bandwidth requirements between such nodes, fromwhich corresponding capital and operational expenses can be derived forthe scenario. Revenue models included in the network architectureplanner allow the service provider to consider various pricingstrategies for the services offered. Once the expense and revenueinformation is available, the network architecture planner includesbusiness measures that allow the service provider to evaluate thescenario with known business measures. In this manner, various scenarioscan be compared and analyzed simultaneously, thus allowing the plannerto select a robust network solution.

A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well asfurther features and advantages of the present invention, will beobtained by reference to the following detailed description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional fixed wirelessbroadband network;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a market assessment and networkplanning tool in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart describing an exemplary implementation of thecluster analysis tool of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a hub cluster diagram generated by the clusteranalysis tool of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sample table from an exemplary cluster analysis hub databasegenerated by the cluster analysis tool of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sample table from an exemplary cluster analysis buildingdatabase generated by the cluster analysis tool of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7A and 7B, collectively, are a flow chart describing an exemplaryimplementation of the hub sector planner of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 illustrates a hub sectoring output produced by the hub sectorplanner of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sample table from a hub sector database generated by the hubsector planner of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 illustrates a hub equipment listing identifying all equipmentcomponents required for a given hub and its assigned buildings under acertain scenario, as generated by the network architecture planner ofFIG. 2; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a service node equipment listing identifying allequipment components required for a given service node under a certainscenario, as generated by the network architecture planner of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a market assessment and network planningtool 200, hereinafter referred to as network planning tool 200,discussed below in conjunction with FIG. 2. The network planning tool200 allows network planners to incorporate various levels of demanduncertainties and focus on the financial outcomes of various test casesbefore the actual network is implemented. While the exemplary networkplanning tool 200 models a fixed wireless access network, the presentinvention may be applied to model and evaluate network scenarios forother wired or wireless access technologies, as would be apparent to aperson of ordinary skill in the art.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network planning tool 200 comprises four mainmodules, namely, a market scenario planner 210, a cluster analysis tool300, a hub sector planner 700 and a network architecture planner 250.Generally, the market scenario planner 210 analyzes a listing ofpotential customers to generate a list of target customers. The clusteranalysis tool 300 allows the network planner to identify “clusters” ofdemand for potential hub placement. The hub sector planner 700 analyzesthe hub assignments generated by the cluster analysis tool 300 andallocates each building in a given hub to a particular sector. Thenetwork architecture planner 250 processes the output of the hub sectorplanning tool 700 to (i) generate a complete configuration of thenetwork in terms of equipment requirements at each node (each building,hub and service node); and (ii) compare a set of scenarios using severalfinancial measures.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network planning tool 200 includes a processor205 and a data storage device 208. Data storage device 208 willconfigure the processor 205 to implement the methods, steps, andfunctions disclosed herein. The data storage device 208 could bedistributed or local and the processor 205 could be distributed orsingular. The data storage device 208 could be implemented as anelectrical, magnetic or optical memory, or any combination of these orother types of storage devices. The term “memory” should be construedbroadly enough to encompass any information able to be read from orwritten to an address in the addressable space accessed by processor205. With this definition, information on a network is still within thedata storage device 208 because the processor 205 can retrieve theinformation from the network.

Market Scenario Planner

The market scenario planner 210 allows parameters to be specified toform a “scenario” that is carried over into subsequent modules. As shownin FIG. 2, the market scenario planner 210 reads in market-specific data220 for various end-user buildings in the market. Generally, themarket-specific data 220 contains information about potential customersin the target market, including address information. Typically, a givenservice provider will create the market-specific data 220 by gatheringmarket information, e.g., from the Dun & Bradstreet business database,and applying well-known models to predict the telecommunications needsof target customers. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, themarket-specific data 220 may include a record for each end-user buildingin the market and, for each building, indicate characteristics such as:building address, building size, latitude, longitude, tenant SIC codes,tenant revenue, number of tenant employees, building type (e.g.,commercial, multi-tenant, warehouse storage, educational or government),and the initial demand estimates for various telecommunication services.

The market scenario planner 210 allows the user to optionally filter theoriginal set of buildings from the market-specific data 220 based oncertain parameters, such as building type, number of tenants oremployees, minimum demand levels, or minimum projected revenues, togenerate a list of target customers 230. In addition, the marketscenario planner 210 estimates how the initial demand for the variousservices will grow in each time interval of the planning period. This isdone based on user-specified parameters such as the number of lines andbandwidth growth per year, concentration rates, and market share. Thus,by varying the filtering and/or demand parameters, a number of scenarioscan be created through the market scenario planner 210 that can then beprocessed by the other modules.

Cluster Analysis Tool

Generally, the cluster analysis tool 300 in the exemplary embodimentdesigns the market clusters for point-to-point and point-to-multipointmicrowave radio systems, based on the bandwidth demand from customers inthe area. The cluster analysis tool 300 selects buildings to serve ashubs and assigns other buildings to the selected hubs, based on thedistance of the building to each possible hub and the total bandwidthserved from the hub. Thus, the cluster analysis tool 300 processes thetarget customer list 230 from the market scenario planner 210 anddetermines an optimal location for the hub sites, their associatedcustomer buildings and the detailed access method per building. In oneembodiment, if a given service provider has already established a hub ina given market, the corresponding building can optionally bepre-selected as a hub. In addition, any end-user buildings served by thepreexisting hub can be removed from consideration.

Based on a geographic distribution of demand, the selected radiotechnology (such as point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, or a hybrid),and the equipment vendor (whose products may vary in their use ofspectrum), the cluster analysis tool 300 determines the number of radiohubs that are required to serve the end-user buildings. As discussedhereinafter, the cluster analysis tool 300 evaluates the possible hublocations by evaluating, e.g., minimum demand thresholds, bandwidthcapacity of the selected vendor and an appropriate rain radius for thearea for the different technologies. It is noted that the distancelimitations between the hub node and end-user buildings can vary inaccordance with climate conditions called here Crane Regions. For eachidentified (potential) hub, the cluster analysis tool 300 determines abuilding assignment based on distance and available capacity at the hub.

Generally, the serving radius of the selected radio technology andvendor provide a collection of hub sites that cover the maximum amountof demand subject to selectable upper and lower bandwidth thresholds.Constraints of RF range and bandwidth capacity of the vendor equipmentare taken into account in the clustering algorithms. In addition, thedistance between hubs can be taken into account to minimize hub-to-hubRF interference.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart describing an exemplary implementation of thecluster analysis tool 300. As shown in FIG. 3, the cluster analysis tool300 initially determines an initial radius value during step 305, basedon the climate of the market being considered, and vendor information.In this embodiment, the QAM radius limit is established first.Thereafter, the cluster analysis tool 300 examines the QAM load for eachpotential hub during step 310.

A test is performed during step 315 to determine if any potential hubhas too much demand for the unassigned buildings within the currentradius. If it is determined during step 315 that one or more potentialhubs have too much demand for the unassigned buildings within thecurrent radius, then the hub radius is reduced to current radius using aspecified decrement amount during step 320. If, however, it isdetermined during step 315 that no potential hub has too much demand forthe unassigned buildings within the current radius, then all buildings(potential hubs) are within the pre-specified hub capacity and programcontrol proceeds to step 325.

The potential hub with the maximum load is selected as a hub during step325 for further inspection. A test is performed during step 335 todetermine if the selected hub candidate's current radius is equal to theQAM maximum radius. If it is, then step 340 is performed whichdetermines whether additional capacity can be added by expanding thecurrent radius beyond QAM into the QPSK region. It is increased untileither the hub capacity limit is reached or the QPSK distance is reachedwhichever occurs first. In either case, step 345 is performed based onthe current radius.

The total load for the selected hub candidate from all unassignedbuildings is determined using the current radius in step 345. Then instep 350, a test is made to see if this load is below the minimumallowed for a hub. If so, then the algorithm stops (step 360). If theload is above the minimum, however, then step 355 is performed.

In step 355, all unassigned buildings within the current radius for theselected hub are assigned to it and control goes back to step 305. Thisalgorithm continues until step 360 is reached.

In further variations of the cluster analysis tool 300, the algorithmcan consider the relative cost advantage of various technologies, suchas QAM versus QPSK. In addition, the minimum distance of each additionalhub from all other hubs in the network can be considered to ensure thateach new hub is positioned at a safe distance from all other hubs tominimize the potential radio interference resulting from hub proximity.

FIG. 4 illustrates a hub cluster diagram 400 generated by the clusteranalysis tool 300. As shown in FIG. 4, the cluster analysis tool 300 hasassigned the various buildings in the target list 230 to five differenthubs 410-1 through 410-5. Hubs 410-1, 410-2 and 410-3 correspondselected hubs, such as hubs already established in a given market.Pre-selected hub 410-2 captures some buildings within the area of hub410-1 but not selected by hub 410-1. Pre-selected hub 410-3 capturessome buildings within the area of hubs 410-1 and 410-2 but not selectedby hubs 410-1 or 410-2. The radius of the exemplary hubs 410-1 and 410-4has been reduced to meet the capacity requirement (during step 320). Theradius of the exemplary hub 410-5 has been increased towards thetechnology limit (QPSK) to accommodate additional capacity (during step350).

FIG. 5 is a sample table from an exemplary cluster analysis hub database500. The cluster analysis hub database 500 records information abouteach hub that is assigned by the cluster analysis tool 300. As shown inFIG. 5, the cluster analysis hub database 500 includes a plurality ofrecords, such as records 501-512, each associated with a different hub.For each hub identified in field 520, the cluster analysis hub database500 identifies the building address, as well as its latitude andlongitude in fields 530, 540 and 550, respectively. A flag in field 555indicates whether the building has fiber access. Field 560 identifiesthe assigned hub number. Fields 565-567 indicates the operating radiusfor various technologies and fields 571-573 indicates the radio load forvarious technologies. Fields 580 and 585 indicate for each hub the totalradio load at the hub (DSOs not including those at the hub buildingitself) and the total load to be backhauled (total DSOs including thoseat the Hub itself), respectively. The number of buildings assigned foreach technology type is set forth in fields 591-593, and the totalnumber of buildings is indicated in field 595.

FIG. 6 is a sample table from an exemplary cluster analysis buildingdatabase 600. The cluster analysis building database 600 recordsinformation about each building, including its hub assignment. As shownin FIG. 6, the cluster analysis building database 600 includes aplurality of records, such as records 601-606, each associated with adifferent building. For each building identified in field 620, thecluster analysis building database 600 identifies the building address,as well as its latitude and longitude in fields 630, 640 and 650,respectively. The number of radios assigned to the building areindicated in field 660, and a flag in field 670 indicates the type ofaccess that the building has (e.g., whether the building has fiber orradio access). A hub building identifier and hub number assignment areset forth in fields 680 and 690, respectively. The cluster radio typefor the building is recorded in field 695.

Hub Sector Planning

The hub sector planning module 700 processes the output from the clusteranalysis tool 300 (i.e., the hub locations, covered buildings and theiraccess type), and provides an estimate of the minimum radio equipmentrequired at each building and hub site to assess the feasibility of suchan assignment based on the available FCC channels.

As discussed below in conjunction with FIG. 7, the hub sector planner700 determines the best radio sector configuration for each hub in termsof the subsystems that are required to cover the buildings in thecluster. The hub sector planner 700 takes into account the selectedradio technology, its frequency bandwidth requirements for the givenconfiguration, and the number of FCC channels that are held by theservice provider (or are planned to be obtained). In addition, the hubsector planner 700 generates an indication of which and how manybuildings can be served by the selected configuration for the assumednumber of available FCC channels. In this manner, the network plannercan determine the minimum number of FCC channels required per servingarea for this scenario. The hub sector planner 700 accounts for RFinterference for the selected technologies and equipment, based on thebandwidth requirements of the individual buildings and their geographiclocations. The output of the hub sector planner 700 also identifies hublocations, their associated buildings that can be served and thebuilding and hub radio equipment requirements.

FIGS. 7A and 7B, collectively, are a flow chart describing an exemplaryimplementation of the hub sector planner 700. Generally, the hub sectorplanner 700 determines the minimum number of subsystems and sectors fora given hub. As shown in FIG. 7A, the hub sector planner 700 initiallystarts with 90 degree sectors, having an orientation due north (0degrees) during step 705. Thereafter, the sectors are rotated by aspecified amount, such as two degrees, during step 710. For eachorientation, the number of subchannels for each technology are computedduring step 715. In addition, for each orientation, any sector with lessthan a specified threshold for the minimum number of buildings allowedin a point-to-multipoint sector, e.g., five (5), is set to apoint-to-point mode during step 720. The orientation with the minimumnumber of sub-channels and point-to-point (PTP) is selected during step725.

The total number of available subchannels, S, is determined during step730, for example, based on existing FCC licenses. A test is performedduring step 735 to determine if any point-to-multipoint sector has morethan S/2 subchannels. If it is determined during step 735 that nopoint-to-multipoint sector requires more than S/2 subchannels, thenprogram control terminates.

If, however, it is determined during step 735 that a point-to-multipointsector requires more than S/2 channels, then program control proceeds tostep 740 (FIG. 7B). The offending sectors are ranked during step 740 bythe number of required subchannels. Thereafter, the number of requiredsubchannels in the current offending sector and each adjacent sector(SS1 and SS2) are determined during step 745. A test is performed duringstep 750 to determine if both SS1 and SS2 are less than S. If it isdetermined during step 750 that both SS1 and SS2 are less than S, thencontrol proceeds with the next lowest ranked sector at step 745.

If, however, it is determined during step 750 that both SS1 and SS2 areless than S, then a further test is performed during step 760 todetermine if the offending sector is at its lowest size allowed, such as22.5 degrees. If it is determined during step 760 that the offendingsector is at its lowest size allowed, then an error has occurred,because there is too much demand in the offending sector.

If, however, it is determined during step 760 that the offending sectoris not at its lowest size allowed, then the offending sector is split intwo during step 765 and program control returns to step 730 (FIG. 7A)and continues in the manner described above. In this manner, the hubsector planner 700 continues until no SS1 or SS2 is greater than S orthe offending sectors cannot be split anymore.

FIG. 8 illustrates the hub sectoring output 800 of the hub sectorplanner 700. As shown in FIG. 8, for a given hub, the hub sector planner700 determines the minimum number of subsystems and sectors to servicethe assigned buildings. For example, sector 1 has been reduced to 22.5degrees to service seven buildings in a point-to-multipoint mode. Sector3 has been reduced to 22.5 degrees to service five buildings in apoint-to-point mode. Sector 2 has been reduced to 45 degrees to servicefour buildings in a point-to-multipoint mode. It is noted that sectors 1through 3 collectively comprise 90 degrees. Sector 4 services 2buildings in a point-to-point mode. Likewise, sector 5 services fivebuildings in a point-to-multipoint mode.

FIG. 9 is a sample table from a hub sector database 900 generated by thehub sector planner 700. Generally, the hub sector database 900 recordssector information for each hub. As shown in FIG. 9, the hub sectordatabase 900 includes a plurality of records, such as records 901-910,each associated with a different characteristic of the hub. In addition,the hub sector database 900 includes fields for each sector of the hub.For the exemplary hub shown in FIG. 9, four sectors 1-4 have beenestablished, each with 90 degrees. Sector 1 extends from 28-118 degrees,sector 2 extends from 118-208 degrees, sector 3 extends from 208-298degrees and sector 4 extends from 298-28 (388) degrees.

Network Architecture Planner

The network architecture planner 250 processes the output of the hubsector planning tool 700 to perform two main functions. First, asdiscussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 10 and 11, the networkarchitecture planner 250 generates a complete configuration of thenetwork in terms of equipment requirements at each node (each building,hub and service node). Second, the network architecture planner comparesa set of scenarios using several financial measures.

In determining the equipment requirements for each network node, thenetwork architecture planner 250 uses a fixed network architecture thatis assumed for the service provider to offer their various services. Thenetwork configuration takes into account, for example the location ofthe service node (which could be local or remote), location ofdata/tandem Point of Presence (PoPs), traffic concentration parameters,and the targeted year that each hub is to come online. Thus, the networkarchitecture planner 250 provides a year-by-year equipment bill ofmaterials for each network element or node, as well as the bandwidthrequirements between such nodes.

From the equipment listings, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, thenetwork architecture planner 250 also derives the corresponding capitaland operational expenses for one or more scenarios under consideration.In addition, the revenue model included in the network architectureplanner 250 allows the service provider to consider various pricingstrategies for their services offered. Once the expense and revenueinformation is available, the “Financial” capability of the networkarchitecture planner 250 further allows the service provider to evaluatethe scenario with known business measures. These include: Cash Flow,Balance Sheet, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, andAmortization (EBITDA), and Net Income. In this manner, the networkplanner can evaluate a specific network configuration scenario.

The “portfolio” capability of the network architecture planner 250allows the network planner to capture (save) the results of severaldifferent scenarios. These scenarios can be compared and analyzedsimultaneously, in terms of the aforementioned business measures, thusallowing the planner to select a robust network solution.

FIG. 10 illustrates a hub equipment listing 1000 identifying allequipment components required for a given hub and its assigned buildingsunder a certain scenario. Generally, the hub equipment listing 1000 is ayear-by-year list of equipment facilities to be deployed for all thebuildings in a given hub, and for the hub itself. FIG. 11 illustrates aservice node equipment listing 1100 identifying all equipment componentsrequired for a given service node under a certain scenario. Generally,the service node equipment listing 1100 is a year-by-year list ofequipment facilities to be deployed for a given service node.

It is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shown anddescribed herein are merely illustrative of the principles of thisinvention and that various modifications may be implemented by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

1. A communications network analysis system, comprising: a marketassessment tool that analyzes market-specific data for potentialcustomers to generate a list of target customers and a correspondingrevenue forecast; a network planning tool for processing said list oftarget customers to determine a location for one or more hub sites andconfigure a network that services said target customers; and a financialanalysis tool that determines a cost of materials for each element insaid configured network and a cost of bandwidth requirements betweensaid network elements to provide a corresponding expense forecast forsaid network.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said tools are includedin an integrated system.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said toolsproduce an output that is configured for processing by a subsequenttool.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said tools produce an outputthat is formatted for processing by a subsequent tool.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said revenue and expense forecasts have correspondingforecasts for various time intervals.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinsaid market assessment tool predicts telecommunications needs of saidpotential customers.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein said marketassessment tool provides user-configurable settings to predicttelecommunications needs of said potential customers, wherein acollection of values for said user-configurable settings provides anetwork scenario.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said system allows aplurality of said network scenarios to be compared.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said market assessment tool provides user-configurablesettings that filter said list of potential customers, wherein acollection of values for said user-configurable settings provides anetwork scenario.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein said system allowsa plurality of said network scenarios to be compared.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said network is a fixed wireless broadband network andsaid system further comprises a cluster analysis tool that processessaid target customers and determines a location for one or more hubsites, associated customer buildings for each of said one or more hubsites and an access method per building.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein said one or more hub sites and customer buildings are assignedbased on a distance of each building to each possible hub and a totalbandwidth served from the hub.
 13. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising a hub sector planner that analyzes said hub assignments andallocates each building in a given hub to a particular sector.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein said hub sector planner assigns said sectorsbased on a selected radio technology and its frequency bandwidthrequirements for a given configuration.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein said hub sector planner assigns said sectors based on a numberof available frequency channels.
 16. A system for analyzing a pluralityof network scenarios, comprising: a market assessment tool that analyzesmarket-specific data for potential customers using user-configurablecriteria to generate a list of target customers and a correspondingrevenue forecast; a network planning tool for processing said list oftarget customers using user-configurable criteria to determine alocation for one or more hub sites and configure a network that servicessaid target customers, a collection of settings for said usinguser-configurable criteria for said market assessment tool and saidnetwork planning tool comprising a scenario; and a financial analysistool that determines a cost of materials for each element in saidnetwork scenario and a cost of bandwidth requirements between saidnetwork elements to provide a corresponding expense forecast for saidnetwork scenario.
 17. The system of claim 16, further comprising meansfor comparing said plurality of scenarios.
 18. The system of claim 16,further comprising business measures for comparing said plurality ofscenarios.